According to the Black Owned Beauty Supply Association, the lucrative industry is dominated by Korean business owners, who manufacture and distribute black hair care products, usually from storefronts in predominately black neighborhoods.

The Rev. Cirven Merrill, owner of The Variety Corner, 1520 E. Genesee, has defied that trend.

His business is the only black-owned beauty and barber supply store remaining in Saginaw County. Merrill has operated the shop for three years. The Variety Corner moved inside Shea Galleria two months ago. It previously was at 3125 Holland.

Dana Rieber |The Saginaw NewsRev. Cirven D. Merrill, 48, of Saginaw is the owner of The Variety Corner, the only black-owned beauty and barber supply store in Saginaw County.

"I'm not in this to make a dollar," he said. "We must keep viable black-owned businesses going. There are an estimated eight Korean-owned beauty supply stores in Saginaw County."

Local Korean owners refused to comment on the record.

Black women pay top dollar to create and maintain the looks of their locks. Saginaw County is home to an estimated 25 to 30 black-owned salons. Chemical relaxers can range from $50 to $80, depending on hair length. Weaves cost $65 and up and the price of synthetic and human hair can range from $10 to $50 per package. Braids can range from $30 to $200. Wigs cost $20 to $80.

"Hair is top priority for black women," said Simone Wright of Saginaw Township.

She owns Faithfully Yours, 2723 State, Suite 2, in Saginaw. Wright has worked as a stylist for 17 years.

David A. Sommers | The Saginaw News
Simone Wright, 37, left, of Saginaw Township is the owner of Faithfully Yours Styling Salon in Saginaw. The salon has been in business for 17 years. Dorothy Orange, 53, right, of Buena Vista Township has worked as a stylist for 25 years. The customer is Terry Farrell, 46, of Saginaw.

"It's very important to us (blacks) to keep our hair done. If a customer comes in to get her hair done every week, she will pay around $160 a month."

In his 2006 documentary "Black Hair," Aron Ranen, an award-winning filmmaker, discovered that Koreans dominate 80 percent of the distribution of black hair products, leaving a scarce amount of black merchants and wholesalers remaining in the business.

Dorothy Orange of Saginaw is a stylist at Faithfully Yours salon. She has 25 years of experience as a stylist. From 1988 to 1993, 53-year-old Orange operated R&D Beauty Supply on East Genesee, before selling her interest in the business to her former husband. That enterprise eventually failed.

"It's hard to keep up," she said.

David A. Sommers |The Saginaw NewsSimone Wright readies a neutralizing shampoo for Terry Farrell. Earlier a relaxer had been applied to her hair. The cream relaxes the curl of her hair. The shampoo neutralizes the relaxer.

Merrill, who is a pastor at Greater Works Ministries in Saginaw, said he's in business for the black community, and in return, he expects the community to keep him in business.

"I am loyal to my community, and I expect my community to support me. I am one of them," he said. "I supply quality African-American service. I give back to the community, and the community benefits."

Stephanie Finley, 33, a customer who buys hair products exclusively from Merrill's store. She said she regularly shops at The Variety Corner because she wants to support black entrepreneurship.

"This is the only place I come to get my hair products. I want to promote black-owned business," said Finley of Saginaw.

"It gives us the power to stick together and grow. We need to stick together."

Pooling money to purchase bulk inventory has its benefits, Merrill said. Companies discount merchandise when items are bought in bulk, and in return, Merrill can offer his customers affordable products.

"The Korean businesses are powerful because they stick together," said Wright of Faithfully Yours in Saginaw.

Dana Rieber | The Saginaw NewsBrenda Page, 42, of Saginaw reads a magazine while sitting under a hair dryer at Faithfully Yours Styling Salon, in Saginaw.

James E. Craig of Detroit started working in the beauty and barber supply business in 1984, working for Superior Beauty and Barber Supply, a black-owned company.
In 1999, he opened his own business in Detroit -- Craig Beauty and Barber Supply -- and caters to numerous black-owned beauty salons throughout lower Michigan, including Saginaw and Bay City salons.

He has held onto to his beauty salon customers by offering an exclusive line of products that his Asian competitors are unable to get. Local Korean owners refused to comment on the record.

"The product I sell isn't like insurance. It's something people use every day to make a living," Craig said.

He is hopeful his good business practices and customer service will help maintain his customer base. Several years ago, he attempted to co-purchase with other black-owned suppliers to hold onto some of the black beauty supply market.

"We couldn't work together, but the Koreans were buying by the truckload and paying in cash. When they have that kind of buying power they're in charge of the marketplace," Craig said.

"America has created this demand for faster, cheaper, quicker, and driving jobs overseas. This is an extremely competitive market. Unless you have an inside edge like I had when I established my business, you can't make it in this industry."